Earth & Climate

Pandemic as an opportunity for climate policy?

In 2020 emissions fell sharply, but that alone is not enough. (Image: DWalker44 / ​​iStock) Less traffic, more home office: the corona pandemic meant...

Weakening of the Gulf Stream system “unprecedented”

An important engine of ocean currents is located in the North Atlantic. (Image: PeterHermesFurian / iStock) An important engine of global ocean circulation is...

Featured picture: A flower made of bacteria

This photo resembles a colorful flower. But you can see colonies of two different bacterial species that have arranged themselves in the nutrient...

Young animals limited predatory dinosaur diversity

This illustration illustrates the void in the medium-sized predators of the dinosaur era compared to the biodiversity of modern carnivores in Africa. (Image:...

Tilting elements in the oceans react sensitively

The North Atlantic overturning current is part of a global circulation system. (Image: aristotoo / iStock) If important ocean currents such as the North...

Magnetic field reversal with consequences

Kauri tree from New Zealand. (Image: Nelson Parker) 42,000 years ago, the Earth's magnetic field temporarily reversed for a few centuries. With the...

Oldest DNA illuminates mammoth pedigree

Steppe mammoths - the "Adycha" mammoth could have looked something like that. (Image: Beth Zaiken / Center for Palaeogenetics) The frozen ground of the...

The decrease in CO2 caused dinosaurs to wander

220 million years ago the land masses of the earth were united to form the supercontinent Pangea. "Isch" and "P" mark locations with...

Emissions of the “ozone killer” CFC-11 are falling again

To protect the ozone layer, many halogenated hydrocarbons are banned. (Image: studio023 / iStock) The gas trichlorofluoromethane contributes to the depletion of the ozone...

Whale calls give insights into the earth’s crust

Fin whales are widespread in all the world's oceans and are extremely vocal in the underwater world. (Caption: JG1153 / iStock) They are so...

Featured picture: Against the spider mite

On this electron microscope image, the spider mite looks almost harmless with its small head and hair on its back. But this arachnid...

Arctic Ocean once full of fresh water

The illustration shows a period of sweetening of the Arctic Ocean, with a view of the processes in the area of ​​the narrow connections...

Primeval fish with a sucking bite

Comparison of the skulls of alligator pike (left) and Tiktaalik. (Image: Justin Lemberg / University of Chicago) To survive on land, the first vertebrates...

Paleontology: Were there vegetarians among the crocodiles?

Artist's impression of extinct representatives of the crocodiles with different diets. (Image: Jorge Gonzalez) They lurk in the water for prey and then snap...

Aerosols cool the atmosphere less than expected

Ships emit exhaust gases that contribute to aerosol formation. (Image: Torresigner / iStock) Tiny particles in the air, so-called aerosols, are created, for example,...

Featured picture: Thinned snail shells

When the pH of the seawater drops, it also affects the shell development of pteropods, as this image shows. The left shell comes...

Did the giant robber hunt like a stork?

Depiction of a Spinosaurus while wading in the water with its snout rummaging for prey. (Image: Robert Nicholls) How did the whimsical Spinosaurus live...

Solar energy: building facades offer great potential

So far, roofs have mainly been used for photovoltaics, not facades. (Image: Behnisch et al./IÖR) Not only roofs offer space for photovoltaic systems: house facades...

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